Phoenix, AZ -- Neighbors thought it was a bomb. An electric water heater was launched over 500 feet early one morning. According to Plumb-Biz plumbers in the area, the water heater had been tinkered with by a handyman. We're told that the home was so badly damaged that it had to be razed. Incedentally, The tank landed across the street from a school. A couple of hours later and kiddos may have been in that cross walk where it landed! For local news coverage of the blast, visit 3TV in Phoenix.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. -- A Kannapolis home is in pieces after
an electric water heater exploded inside early Thursday.

Firefighters were called to the vacant house on Independence Square just
before 6 a.m. They found the home destroyed, but it was not on fire.

During their investigation, they found part of the water heater nearly 70 feet away from the building – it shot up through the roof, over a building and landed in a driveway. Debris was scattered more than 300 feet from the residence. . . Here's the rest of the WSCOTV.com news story. Note: Be sure to check ou the slide
show at the end of the story.

A block away, at Burien Toyota, sales manager Bobby Lynn was holding his
regular Friday morning sales meeting when the building began to shake.

And at the Carniceria Zacatecas butcher shop, Susana Randall was buying meat
when she heard an explosion.

"There was glass, everything flying all over the place," Randall said. "I
feel very lucky that I wasn't hurt."

And so it was yesterday morning, when a hot water heater exploded and blasted
through the roof of Cuautla Video. rest of story . . .

Avon High School "Just as they took their break, Ms. Brennon indicated that they heard a “big
boom” and immediately ran for the door fearing a secondary gas explosion. . In order for the vessel to fail
catastrophically with force sufficient to cause the building structural damage,
the temperature of the water in the vessel had to be over 212 F in order for the
water to flash into steam. The vessel
was equipped with a pressure-temperature safety valve that should have been
designed to prevent the vessel from achieving excessive pressures and
temperatures. The stamping on the valve
was not be found in the debris, however the valve was sent to the National Board
lab for testing.". . see full story.

Spencer Oklahoma At quarter past noon that Tuesday, disaster struck Star Elementary. Within
seconds, six students and one teacher were dead, most crushed to death against a
concrete wall. Forty­two others, adults and children, were injured, some
severely. more. . Another story